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Here is an Absolutely Gorgeous, Mega-Ultra-Rare & Very Desirable Antique Late 19th C. 1899 “Artogravure” Chromolithograph of the Famous English Horse Market Scene in Paris titled, “The Horse Fair.”, after the original 1852-55 oil painting by the world-famous listed animalier painter, ‘Rosa Bonheur’ (French, 1822-1899), whose printed signature appears lower-right in the image corner.
About the Painting: Bonheur’s original painting of “The Horse Fair” was initially purchased in 1855 by Ernest Gambert for Fr40,000 (francs), and subsequently purchased by William P. Wright of Weehawken, NJ for Fr30,000 and later sold to Alexander T. Stewart for $40,000, and later sold on March 25, 1887 for $53,000 to Samuel P. Avery for Cornelius Vanderbilt, who the next day presented it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This, Bonheur’s best-known painting, shows the horse market held in Paris on the tree-lined Boulevard de l’Hôpital, near the asylum of Salpêtrière, which is visible at left in the background. For a year and a half Bonheur sketched there twice a week, dressing as a man to discourage attention. Bonheur was well established as an animal painter when the painting debuted at the Paris Salon of 1853, where it received wide praise. In arriving at the final scheme, the artist drew inspiration from George Stubbs, Théodore Gericault, Eugène Delacroix, and ancient Greek sculpture: she referred to The Horse Fair as her own "Parthenon frieze.” (Source: metmuseum site, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC).
From an old 1900 publication of The Canadian Bee Journal, they further described the painting: “The “Horse Fair” consists of a group of strong Percheron horses, white dappled, black, and brown, being excercised by their lusty grooms in the fresh morning light before a numerous crowd of onlookers and buyers. It is broad and masterly in construction and the free handling of its lights and shadows; yet the detail is worked out in perfection, and the effect produced by the group of sleek stallions chafing at their bits, is one which lingers in the memory of every man who looks upon it, be he an admirer of art or only a lover of horses.”
Publisher & Print Info: The publisher name & location, ‘Printed by Niagara Lithograph Co., Buffalo, N.Y.’, appears printed lower-right just beneath the image in the outer margin area, and the painting info, ‘Original in the Metropolitan Art Museum, New York.’, appears printed lower-left respectively. See Brief Publishing Company History Below. From research, Niagara Lithograph did print a couple different sized versions of this particular Bonheur scene. The Chromolitho features a beautiful light embossing of specific details within the image on the surface of the print here & there in the trees, on the people & horses, clouds in the sky and on the foreground, which adds a nice overall effect & depth to the details of the printing & within the scene itself (though not visible in the photo really). A duplicate copy of this wonderful Chromolitho was featured in our 100-Year Anniversary Exhibition (1901-2001) here at our gallery, which was one of the highlights of the show. The Chromolitho is printed on a nice heavier weight cream-colored wove what the publisher called “Plate” paper stock, which had been previously framed a very long time ago for a short period of time, but is being sold loose without any frame.
A Little Back-history of the Series:
In June of 1899, The Niagara Lithograph Co., Buffalo, NY began printing, publishing and promoting their portfolio series of twelve “Artogravure” chromolithographs after some of the world’s most famous paintings “in their original colors.” titled the “Portfolio of the Masters”. They were considered “strikingly faithful reproductions” after the original paintings with every color, shade and tint rendered in fidelity to the original paintings—which at times, were restored by the Niagara Lithograph Co.’s internal artists who made them ‘more-brilliant than the originals’ which may have had possible damage and/or color fade, so that they could ‘live again in their original lustre’ as touted by old advertisements of the time period. The Artogravures were beautifully printed with added light embossing within the image area to highlight specific details and brushstrokes which added a nice overall effect and depth within the scene itself to appear like ‘genuine oil paintings’. The chromolithographs were published as “Circulation Boomers” or sales advertising “Premiums” for subscribers which were issued periodically through a large syndicate of leading progressive daily and religious newspapers as well as magazines and other publications around the United States and Canada in connection with their respective subscription departments, which included newspapers such as: The Buffalo Times, Boston Journal, Pittsburg Dispatch, Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune, Toledo Blade, Omaha Bee, San Francisco Chronicle, Toronto Saturday Night magazine, and about 27-30+ other well-known newspapers. The first six paintings that were reproduced that summer were: Bonheur’s “The Horse Fair”, “Christ Before Pilate”, “The Defense of Champigny”, “The Defense of Longboyan”, “Friedland”, and “The Balloon”, with the other six published the following year which included: “Rosa Bonheur’s The Horse Fair” (Larger Size 22” x 30”), “Gen Braddock’s Defeat by The Indians”, “The Constitution and Guerriere”, “Sheridan’s Ride”, “The Sistine Madonna”, and “Sichel’s Madonna”. The Artogravures ranged in few different sizes to include: 12-1/2” x 22”, 17” x 22”, 17” x 24” and 22” x 30”. The various newspaper and magazine companies could purchase the Artogravures individually or as a portfolio collection of twelve called the “Portfolio of the Masters” in any quantity they desired, directly from the Niagara Lithograph Co. who would in turn also deliver them by mail to their individual subscriber lists. The Niagara Lithograph Co. originally wholesaled the Artogravures for 10¢ each (which equals about $3.59 for 2023), and were tubed and mailed for 20¢ each ($7.18 respectively for 2023) and many of the newspaper and magazine companies sold them directly to their present, renewing or new subscribers from $1 each retail (which equals about $35.50 for 2023) and were also sold by various other companies too.—certainly not cheap! Up to that time period, it was stated that the promotion of the series proved to be the most successful subscription plan ever syndicated among the newspapers in the United States and Canada and were marketed to the general public for use in decorating homes as well teaching aids in schools.
Size & Condition: The size with wide margins is 19-3/8” x 26”, Image size is 12-1/2” x 22”. The Chromolithograph is in VeryGood-Excellent Rare+ condition for its antique age with fine detail, rich color & wonderful tones. No real or significant damage at all on this gorgeous Chromolitho aside from the tiny & completely negligible exceptions of: Extremely minimal (only a handful or so) of very small & very slight crescent-creases scattered here & there in the image area which are only lightly visible form the back (not really visible in image from the front) and aren’t even worth mentioning; Ultra-minimal (maybe a dozen or so) of tiny & faint foxing specks and a few spots scattered here & there on the sheet which are only barely visible here & there in the outer margin areas (none noticeable in image area) and aren’t really worth mentioning either; There are only four very tiny & completely negligible outer margin edge tears which are all repaired from behind with archival tape for protection, and are negligible since the outer margins can easily be trimmed off or matted & framed out, and are as follows: 3/8” & 1/8” tears on the right outer margin edge upper-middle-right & lower-right, and 1/8” tear on left outer margin edge middle and 3/4” tear on the top edge far-left (near corner); Other minimal & slight small creasing scattered here & there in the outer margin areas, along a couple outer margin edges and a few outer margin corners with some associated small dog-ear bends—as previously mentioned, any & all outer margin issues are completely negligible since they can easily be trimmed off or matted & framed out; Some slight toning of the paper stock from age and there is a very slight vertical burn-line from being previously framed & wood-backed, that is lightly noticeable in the top & bottom middle outer margin areas which does not show/affect the image area, and a tiny bit of acid-burn from the old frame’s inner rabbet edge, which is mostly noticeable on the back on the left & right outer margin edges, which is barely visible from the front on the chromolitho, but is also negligible and easily trimmed off or matted & framed out too. This rare & wonderful version of Bonheur’s “Horse Fair” would make the perfect addition to any Rosa Bonheur, animal/horse or art collection! What a Beauty!!! Don’t miss this RARE opportunity!!!
Publisher Company History: The Niagara Lithograph Company (American Publishers & Lithographers, 1896-1967) were located at 1050 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY. The company printed chromolithographs and various lithographs, calendars, advertisements, trade cards, WWI posters, promotional pamphlets, other art posters, cardboard signs, as well as on metal and various postage stamps. The company was also known for printing much of the Coca-Cola cardboard signs from 1930-1940, and other notable corporations who were clients included; Colgate, Canada Dry, and Firestone. Alternate company names found across their various publications and online sites include; Niagara Lith. Co., Niagara Lithograph Co., Niagara Lith. Company, Niagara Lithographic Co. and the Niagara Lithographing Company.
The company’s history can be traced back to Hugh M. Clay who had worked in lithography firms for ten years before going into partnership with Herman Cosack in 1864 to form Clay, Cosack & Company (American Lithographers, 1864-1879). The company printed a variety of lithographic products to include; chromolithographs, trade cards, art prints, seed packets, medicine labels, tourist cards etc. In 1879, Clay left the firm to start a new partnership with Henry A. Richmond to form Clay & Richmond (American Lithographers, 1879-1886). Their firm concentrated on printing chromolithographic trade cards and labels, and when Clay retired in 1886, the company became the Richmond Lithographing Company (American Lithographers, 1886-1896). In 1896, the firm changed its name yet again to the Niagara Lithograph Company after it was purchased by Hugo R. Monro, John J. McWilliams (who served as president), and his son-in-law Horace Reed. After McWilliams death in 1912, Reed took over the company.
In 1967, Niagara Lithograph Co. consolidated with Sale Lithograph Co. (American Lithographers, 1904-1967) to form Sale-Niagara, Inc. (1967-1992). In 1977, Sale-Niagara was purchased by Walter Jaworski (of Miken Companies Inc., Unionized Commercial Printers, 1976-2005), and by 1992 the two printing companies had merged. During its highly productive years, the company printed for many famous publishing giants to include; The National Geographic Society, Dell, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Harper Collins, Random House and Bantam Doubleday, for which the company produced more than 13 million hard and paperback covers for titles by the famous bestselling author, attorney, politician and activist John Grisham (American, 1955- ). “After reaching a peak in 1993 of $21.94 million, revenues at the Cheektowaga company stagnated in the late 1990’s, dropping to $17 million. In early 2002, Miken lost one of its largest customers when it acquired a printing company of its own, which resulted in a loss of about $6 million, Bolas said. The company ended 2004 with about $10 million in revenues and was on track for about the same for 2005”[1]. Unfortunately, Miken couldn’t turn around the debt-laden company and they were forced to close their doors in mid-September of 2005, leaving about 80 employees out of work.
(Compiled & rewritten in parts by Mark Strong of Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc., East Aurora, NY 14052, meibohmfinearts, sources: metropostcard site, “Niagara Lithograph Co. 1896-1990’s, Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY”; loc.gov; fultonhistory site, online digitized newspaper article, Courier Express, “Lithograph Firms to Consolidate”, Pg. 8, Tuesday August 22, 1967, PDF Buffalo NY Courier Express 1967 a - 2575.pdf; bizjournals site and quote [1], “Cheektowaga printer shutting down”, by Tracey Drury, Business First, Monday, September 12, 2005; company-detail site, “Sale-Niagara, Inc.”)
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WE SHIP TO: The U.S. & WORLDWIDE (Excludes: China, Korea, South, Russian Federation, Haiti, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Somalia).
IMPORTANT NOTES: We ship all of our Antique & Vintage Items Safely & Securely Hardpacked & Secured in between Oversized Cardboard, AND/OR shipped in Heavy-Duty Tubes with Archival Paper or Glassine with Bubble-Wrap added for Protection. Our customers have greatly appreciated their well-packed & well-protected artwork as our feedback clearly shows. -We have unfortunately been on the receiving end of poorly-packed artwork and we wouldn't wish that on our worst enemies.
***To save our customers MORE $$$, ALL Shipping Rates (Domestic & Overseas) 'DO NOT' include Handling/Packing Fees and are extremely close to the 'Actual Shipping Costs' based on eBay's (estimated) Shipping Calculator that we use exclusivley on all of our auction listings.
"eBay's SHIPPING CALCULATOR": We exclusively use eBay's "SHIPPING CALCULATOR", which is built right into the auction page itself and is accessible at the top of the page via the 'See all details' or via the 'Shipping and Payments' tab next to the 'Description' tab at the top of the page. You simply type in your Zip Code or choose your Country from the Drop-Down list provided & it displays the shipping amount for you. HAWAII & ALASKA, would be shipped by either USPS Priority Mail or UPS 2nd-Day Air.
*DOMESTIC BIDDERS PLEASE READ:
-For U.S. (lower 48 States): We normally ship via USPS (United States Postal Service) or UPS-Ground as an alternate choice. We recommend UPS since they cover up to the 1st $100.00. We will provide a tracking number and will email it to you when the item(s) have shipped.
SHIPPING RATES: In the continental United States are based on the estimated size of the item (with extra spacing for Hardpack and/or Heavy-Duty Tube & Bubble-Wrap for protection) & estimated final weight.
HAWAII & ALASKA: Would be shipped via USPS Priority Mail or UPS 2-Day Air based on estimated size with extra spacing for hardpack and/or shipped in a heavy-duty tube, bubble wrap and estimated final weight.
**INTERNATIONAL BIDDERS PLEASE READ (IMPORTANT!!!):
-For CANADA & WORLDWIDE: We normally ship via USPS International (United States Postal Service), within their size restrictions. Please see USPS for further information regarding your country and its respective 'Rate Charts', complete information & 'Conditions for Mailing'. We would fill out the appropriate Customs Forms and provide the 'Winning Bidder' with the 'Customs Number' via email as soon as the item has shipped (Items can be tracked via USPS). PLEASE NOTE: Any Customs Clearance or Import Duty Fees and/or Taxes (normally collected upon delivery and/or pickup), are the 'Winning Bidder's' sole responsibility, and are not included in the item price or the shipping charges. *Please check with your country's Customs Office/House prior to bidding/buying to determine what those additional fees will be*. We normally ship within 2 business days of cleared payment, but PLEASE NOTE: Please allow extra delivery time for your item(s) to clear all Customs Houses (U.S. and Abroad-typical delivery time about 14 business days +/-). We also would need a VALID INTERNATIONAL ADDRESS to 'Ship To'.
***IMPORTANT NOTE*** Customs charges/fees & duty taxes are based on the final value amount of the item(s) that we are required by U.S. law to declare on Customs Forms before shipping the item. Under U.S. law we are unable to mark a smaller amount or to declare the item a gift, sample, or anything other than merchandise prints/paintings etc, so PLEASE DO NOT ASK. We are a respectable business & must transact our auctions honestly & by the law. We would be liable and would get in trouble if there were any complications. The value marked on the Customs form will be the final auction price for any or all prints/paintings & will not include shipping. Most items will be shipped rolled in a Heavy-Duty Tube to save on shipping costs. Some may be shipped flat/hardpacked at our discretion.
NOTES FOR ALL BIDDERS:
COMBINED SHIPPING: We offer Combined Shipping, for multiple winning auctions if the items can be put into the same package. Note: Some Combined Rates may be higher due to Combined Weight changes or Oversized (OS1) dimensions, for items such as: Framed items, multiple paintings on canvas, oversized items etc. Please wait until we email you an appropriate invoice reflecting the discount for any multiple item auction wins before you pay via PayPal, or you can email us for an invoice after auction end.
We normally ship items within 2 business days of receiving cleared payment. Please Note: Our gallery is closed Sundays & Mondays. We make every effort to pack artwork securely and carefully as per the items’ specifications.
Due to the Antique/Vintage nature of MOST of our items, at our discretion we ship items flat or in heavy-duty tubes and they are securely & safely packed with each item wrapped in packing paper or archival glassine, then secured in between oversized cardboard or rolled in a heavy duty tube, then bubble-wrap is added, as per the item's specifications. Smaller items (like postcards & small prints) will also be securely & safely packed with each item wrapped in packing paper or archival glassine, then secured in between oversized cardboard, then shipped in a bubble-lined envelope.
*UPS DOES NOT SHIP TO P.O. BOXES*
Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc. is NOT responsible for shipping service transit times, provided by USPS & UPS, which normally exclude weekends and holidays (with the exception of Saturday mail deliveries for USPS), and may vary with package origin and destination, particularly during peak periods such as; Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day etc.
Meibohm Fine Arts, Inc. is NOT responsible for Customs Clearing & Delivery Times. Delivery &/OR Pickup times for your package may vary from country to country, so please be patient.
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